A disciplined bowling display saw Pakistan defeat South Africa by 19 runs (via D/L/S method) in a Group B encounter in the ICC Champions Trophy at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, South Africa got off to a solid enough start, with Quinton de Kock (33 off 49 balls) and Hashim Amla (16 off 20 balls) adding 40 runs for the first wicket. But once the Pakistan spin duo of Imad Wasim and Mohammad Hafeez were introduced into the bowling attack, the Proteas were all at sea.

After both openers fell to the spinners, AB de Villiers was dismissed for a golden duck for the first time in his ODI career.

Then, Hasan Ali ripped through South Africa’s middle-order as he took three wickets which reduced the batting side to 118-6. The wicket of Wayne Parnell will stay long in the memories of cricket fans as Hasan, bowling from around the wicket, got the ball to straighten and crash into the left-handed batsman’s off-stump.
David Miller curbed his natural instincts to help South Africa set a competitive target. The 27-year-old hit just one four and three sixes in his unbeaten knock of 75 from 104 balls.

He was well supported by Chris Morris (28 off 45 balls) and Kagiso Rabada (26 off 23 balls) in the latter part of the innings.
While Hasan was the most impressive of Pakistan’s bowlers, IMAD (2-20 from eight overs), Junaid Khan (2-53 from nine overs), and Hafeez (1-51 from 10 overs) were also among the wickets.
In reply, ODI debutant Fakhar Zaman got Pakistan off to a quick start, as he hit six boundaries in his 23-ball 31.
Morne Morkel then showed why he is still such a valuable asset to the South African team as he bowled a magnificent spell which saw him dismiss Zaman and Azhar Ali (9 off 22 balls) in the same over before getting the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez (26 off 53 balls) later in the innings.
Pakistan, though, were always ahead of the eight ball and when the rain came down after 27 overs during their chase, Babar Azam (31* off 51 balls) and Shoaib Malik (16* off 14 balls) had guided them to 119-3, 19 runs ahead of the par score via the D/L/S method.

Pakistan have won 5 out of their last 6 games against South Africa in ICC tournaments. #CT17

“Ashwin is a high-class bowler, everyone knows that and he is very professional as well. He understood the dynamic of the side that we picked in the last game and he was absolutely fine with it,” said captain Kohli.

Nothing out of ordinary in Virat's pc today. Lot of talk about Ashwin though. Wondering if he will be in contention tomorrow. #CT17#IndvSL

SRI LANKA FOCUS

Sri Lanka ended up on the receiving end of a 96-run defeat against South Africa in their opening match and will need a quick turnaround in their fortunes as they face a strong Indian side.

While Sri Lanka will be boosted by the return of skipper Angelo Mathews, they will miss Upul Tharanga who has been suspended for two matches because of a slow over-rate in the game against the Proteas when he was standing in as captain.

Chamara Kapugedera has been ruled out of the tournament after he suffered a knee injury during training. He has been replaced in the squad by Danushka Gunathilaka.

ICC Champions Trophy 2017 - Group A: Qualification Scenarios

With two matches left in Group A at the ICC Champions Trophy, England have confirmed a spot in the semi-finals while the other spot is still up for grabs with the other three teams in contention.

With four points from two matches, the hosts have also assured themselves of finishing in first position. While Australia can also finish the group stages with four points, they cannot overtake England as the team from Down Under will have lesser wins what come may.

If two teams are equal on points, the first factor used to separate the sides is the number of wins. If that is also the same, then net run-rate is considered.

For Australia, the scenario is simple: beat England and they are through to the last four. Having seen both their games so far abandoned due to rain, Steve Smith’s side now have two points. A win against England will take them to four points and it’ll be impossible for New Zealand or Bangladesh to catch up.

For New Zealand (currently on one point), they need to get the better of Bangladesh and hope that England do them a favour in the other match by defeating Australia or the match between the Ashes rivals is washed out.